Arena Football League to Kick Off 2018 Season with New Playoff Rules, More Ticket Options for Fans

Las Vegas - Today, the Arena Football League announced its 2018 schedule along with some exciting new playoff rules changes that guarantee the excitement of a home playoff game in every city and a new League-Wide Pass ticket that will give fans a chance to experience the fun of arena football on the road.

"Arena football is one of the fastest, most engaging games out there," said Ron Jaworski, Chairman of the AFL Executive Committee. "We are excited to announce some exciting changes for the 2018 season that we believe will bring fans even closer to the game -- both at home and on the road. These changes guarantee the excitement of a home playoff game in every city, and give fans a chance to experience the fun of an away game."

More detail on these changes, as well as some exciting new league partnerships, will be announced in the coming weeks.

New Playoff Rules

The Arena Football League also announces today, some significant changes to its playoff rules. For the first time ever, the league will open the 2018 playoffs with a two-game home and home playoff series. The highest seeded team for each matchup will have the option to select their home date weekend in the playoff series. If the same team wins both postseason games of the home & home series, that team will advance to ArenaBowl XXXI. In the event that the series ends in a 1-1 tie, the team with the highest aggregate score in the series will advance. Should the aggregate score of the series be tied at the end of regulation of the 2nd game, the teams will immediately play a standard format overtime period to determine which team advances. The champion of the Arena League will still be crowned in a traditional head-to-head matchup in ArenaBowl XXXI.

The competition committee also expects to be make changes to game play that will shorten the duration of games and speed up the pace of play. This will be done in an effort to create an even more engaging and explosive game, and improve the game day experience for our fans. Specific rule changes as it relates to game play will be announced at a later date.

New League-Wide Pass Ticketing

This year, when fans purchase season tickets for their hometown team, they will also receive complimentary tickets in each of the opposing teams' markets. This new League-Wide Pass will give fans an opportunity to see and support their team on the road, and experience the fun of arena football in each of our great AFL cities.